


the dreams we forget when daylight breaks

by reiiraindrops



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Childhood, Fanart, Gen, SBI FAMILY DYNAMIC YES, beach episode pog, non-canon backstory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-11 22:42:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28500120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reiiraindrops/pseuds/reiiraindrops
Summary: A collection of dreams (or perhaps that of distant memories?) that happen on the dream SMP.From how things came to be, to words unspoken to others in letters, to silly hijinks that happen on the SMP, who knows what we'll find out today?(tags and characters will be updated as stories are posted!)
Kudos: 4





	1. an undelivered letter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I miss you Phil.
> 
> I'm scared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what if Wilbur wrote a letter to his missing dad before ending it all?

Dear Phil,

How are you doing?

I really wish you were here right now. I miss seeing you on tough days and I miss the sound of your laugh. I miss our family.  
Remember my last letter to you? About the Great War? And about how we got to keep L'manburg? It was a defining point in the history of our country. It was paradise. 

It was euphoric.

But a lot of things have changed now, and this time -

I'm on the losing side of history.

We had a presidential election, and we - I and TommyInnit - we were sure to win. We were popular with the people and had famous celebrities endorsing us. We even invited Jschlatt, a close friend of mine and an incredibly powerful figure, to endorse us.

So when I summoned Schlatt into this realm to help me, I thought I was summoning a friend.

Turns out I summoned a different horned fiend instead.

_I summoned the fucking devil._

And just when I thought that things couldn't possibly get worse, I find out that someone else I dearly love has also betrayed me.

My own _son._

How could he betray me? I started L'manburg, built L'manburg, fought for L'manburg - all just for him. He is the sole reason why L'manburg came to be.

And he burned that fucking flag down to the ground.

_(Sometimes I still hear Niki's scream echo in my head as the flag burned to ashes.)_

Is he even worthy of still being my son? After all that he's done?

We lost the election, and consequently, I and Tommy were banished from our own land and forced into hiding in the woods, where we found a cavern with a deep ravine and began rebuilding our kingdom.

Pogtopia, we named it. _The land of the free_ , yet we can't even bask in the sunlight without wandering eyes watching our every move, ready to sell us out to Schlatt. 

_Pathetic_ , I know.

After a few days in the new land we called 'home' Tubbo found us. He told us that Schlatt had made him his right-hand man, but that he'd still be loyal to us. Apparently, Schlatt had taken down the very walls that kept L'manburg safe and had renamed my pride and joy to Manburg - saying quote-unquote, _"we don't take L's here"._

It took every ounce of strength in me to not punch Tubbo in the face instinctively. 

This was too much. I grabbed Tubbo and made him promise to me. I made him promise - no, I made him _swear_ \- that he was on our side. He did, and by the end of the day, Pogtopia's population grew by one. Weeks passed, and despite the regular reports we received from Tubbo, we were getting restless. We were getting desperate. We needed a plan.

_**We needed another revolution.** _

We needed more men, more supplies, and more firearms. And I needed them as soon as possible.  
Tommy -somehow - managed to find Technoblade in this realm. I don’t know how or what he did, and under normal circumstances I’d welcome my long lost brother with open arms. But things are different.

In all honestly, will this pink-haired, monotone man really be our salvation? A brother who I have not seen in the past 15 years, who from childhood would always fight in the name or anarchy? Tommy seemed so confident in The Blade's skill it was almost laughable. To trust someone without seeing their skills beforehand? Oh, the naivety Phil.

  


He's _scared_ , Phil. 

  


He's _desperate_. 

He's delusional for believing a single man can turn the tables. He's afraid - I can see it in his eyes, and in the way his lips quiver when he talks. I don't trust him.

  


And Techno? 

  


He could turn on us anytime. The man's an anarchist- who knows what's going on inside that head of his. Heck, he doesn’t even look like the older brother I once knew. His eyes were bright blue and full of life, just like yours’ Phil. Now they’re dead and cold, one as dark as the depths of the ocean, while the other as red as blood. 

That doesn’t happen naturally Phil. Something must have happened when we were separated.

  


It also doesn’t help that the woods keep whispering, telling me _"he's compromised."_

  


I don't trust Tubbo either - he says he's on our side, he says he'll be there for us - but when the time comes I just know he'll betray me, just to keep himself safe. Every time I see him, the lines beneath his eyes get darker, and his eyes seem to say,

_"you're never getting L'manburg back."_

I can't take it anymore Phil. I can't trust anyone. What if Tubbo's right? What if Techno betrays us, and Pogtopia falls to ruin, and L'manburg stays in the hands of that bastard tyrant forever?

_Fuck it._

If I can't have L'manburg,

**_Then no one can._ **

I'll burn that rotten kingdom to the _fucking_ ground if that's what it takes. I'll tear down its walls, blow up the city, and send everyone in it to kingdom come.

And Schlatt?

_He'll meet a fate far worse than death._

Am I doing the right thing? Please tell me, Phil.

_Goodbye,_

Wilbur Soot.

P. S.

I know by the time that you receive this letter, Manburg - no, _L'manburg_ \- will probably be gone. If you don't hear from me again then that means I've gone down with her.

P. S.S.

I miss you Phil.

~~_I'm scared._ ~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wilbur is one of my favorite characters on the Dream SMP, and it really pained me to see him once "rule the world" and then have it robbed from him in the blink of an eye. I understand the reasons for his actions and sympathized with him when everything around him slowly fell apart, so I wanted to try and capture his descent into madness in this letter to his father.


	2. salt water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wilbur has always hated the ocean. 
> 
> The waves bring back memories of a lover he lost so many years ago. Someone who's name was never spoken off, their name swept up by the waves of time. 
> 
> Wilbur remembers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beach episode pog?

  


Wilbur has always hated the ocean. 

The waves bring back memories of a lover he lost so many years ago. Someone who's name was never spoken off, their name swept up by the waves of time. 

_Wilbur remembers._

  


\---

  


He remembers walking by a pristine beach one early summer morning, just before the sun rose from beyond the horizon. His coming of age party was wild and loud, and after hours of bearing with drunk friends and incoherent ramblings, he had finally had enough. So in an attempt to get some peace and quiet, he picked up his coat and wore his beanie before setting off for the beach. The morning air is cold and the wind blows sand into his coat, yet Wilbur doesn't seem to mind it. Aimlessly strolling around at a lonely hour, he doesn't expect to meet anyone else. So when he hears soft laughter accompanied by the overlapping of waves, he turns towards the sound. 

And boy does he not regret it. 

The sight before him is forever ingrained in his memory. 

  


In the glow of the sunrise, a girl with fiery orange hair stands between the waves, her back towards Wilbur. She turns around, and her clear blue eyes meet his own. She stays silent for a while, eyeing Wilbur from head to toe before offering a smile so warm and dazzling even the sun would lose out. She stretches out a hand and beckons him towards her. 

And like a seaman lost at sea, he follows the siren.

  


\---

  


It's the last day of summer, so many years ago, when instead of a fiery-haired girl, he finds a newborn wrapped in cloth and a note in the sand. 

Alone at the break of dawn and at the mercy of the cold breeze, Wilbur picks up the lone child. 

The child is so tiny in his arms, so soft and so fluffy. He has tiny little fox ears that slightly twitch from the ocean breeze, and bright orange hair so similar to someone Wilbur used to know. Wilbur is speechless and desperately turns to the note for answers. 

His heart drops, and he crumples the note in his fist. 

_"it's yours."_

  


It says. And nothing else.

  


\---

  


So when his friends and family excitedly ask Wilbur to join them on a trip to the beach, he groans. He really isn't ready for a trip down memory lane, _especially_ down that one. Tubbo and Niki won't stop begging him nicely, while Tommy and Fundy decide to recite every single swear word until Wilbur gives in. 

Eventually after hearing the word "fuck" at least four times, "bitch" thrice, and "shit" five times, he finally gives in on the condition that he himself wouldn’t play in the water, and the rest all cheer. 

The trip to the ocean didn't take long - after all, the Dream SMP has various modes of transport available throughout the kingdom (although most of them are dysfunctional), and they arrive before noon. 

As soon as they set foot on the warm, golden, sand, the kids all _run_. Wilbur yells at them to come back, but after realizing that his voice is out of their earshot he gives up and decides to set up a spot underneath a nearby tree. When they get tired from running around and messing with each other, they’ll most likely return to Wilbur to get some rest. Probably.

A while later all the kids find him and whine for ice cream, and Wilbur complies. He was expecting to pay for a scoop of ice cream for each of them, probably costing him 3 bucks at most. What he did not expect was for the boys to buy triple scoops ice creams with extra toppings and then run off, leaving Wilbur to pay for their expenses. 

Needless to say, Wilbur felt like crying after seeing the sad state of his flat wallet. 

After comforting Wilbur, Niki grabs her camera from the bag and decides to go for a walk and take some pictures, heading towards the direction the boys ran in. She turns around and waves back at him, before running off, leaving Wilbur alone once more. He glances around his surroundings and sees a nearby family having a picnic underneath the shade of their umbrella, munching and chomping on some sandwiches and burgers. 

Suddenly remembering that they did not pack lunch, Wilbur scans the area for some food joints. Lunchtime is quickly approaching, and he’s pretty sure the kids will come back searching for food. He eventually spots a fish and chips stand closeby, and gathers whatever change is left in his wallet to grab some food. Luckily, he has enough small cash to buy enough food for everyone, and true to his words, he comes back to 5 hungry children grinning at him by their beach spot. 

The boys finish their food in no time, and after resting for a bit to let the food digest, they go off to continue playing under the sun. Niki on the other hand decides to stay behind once more to accompany Wilbur, and she takes out her camera. He settles down beside her, and she turns on her camera and beckons Wil to see the pictures. She smiles as she clicks through the camera to show him the hundreds of photos she's taken within the few minutes they've been there, happily describing the small details she captured. Her favorite one is a picture of Tommy and Tubbo each holding up triple-scoop ice creams with the largest grins on their face, oblivious to the seagull in the background looming dangerously close. What the photograph didn't show was what happened afterward, in which a poor seagull got a faceful of ice cream and a sad Tubbo with an empty cone. Niki had offered to buy another triple-scoop ice cream for him, but Tommy stepped in and offered to share his ice cream instead. Wilbur chuckles at the story. Tommy may be an annoying brat at times, but Wilbur knows that he can be kind too. Her second favorite picture is one of Fundy in a floaty, his ears perked up in delight as he notices all the little fishes swimming by his feet. Wilbur smiles, impressed with Niki’s eye for aesthetics and her photography skills. 

After showing him several more of her pictures and chatting, Niki decides to continue her walk in search of more scenes and interactions to take photographs of, leaving Wilbur on his own once more. He lies around for a bit, then grabs his guitar and starts playing it. After composing over half of a new song, he gets bored and scans his surroundings before finding a familiar face.

By the shade of the umbrella not too far away from him, Eret sits in the sand surrounded by the walls of his sandcastle. Wilbur isn't sure when Eret returned or how he didn't see him earlier, but he shrugs it off. He watches as Eret's white eyes fixate on a tiny crustacean that has taken up residence in his sandcastle, oblivious to the waves attacking the walls of his castle. For some reason he isn't wearing his signature sunglasses - which in Wilbur's opinion is one of the stupidest decisions Eret has made (and he's made a lot), considering the fact that: 

  


1.They're at the beach and  
2.The sun is quite _literally_ above their head. 

  


Eventually, it comes to Eret's attention that the waves are slowly eroding the sides of his castle, and he shuffles away from the crab to resume building. Wilbur chuckles, and he turns away from Eret's castle to see if he can find the chaotic trio. 

A bit farther away by the shallow waters of the ocean are Tubbo, Tommy, and Fundy, who have (oddly) decided to try paddle boating. Three people on a boat is a tight fit, but they don't seem to mind it. At first, Wilbur is concerned about the trio messing around and accidentally drowning one another, but after seeing them somehow paddle out to deeper waters without anyone falling out, he feels more relieved. He turns away to grab his phone, while a loud voice in the distance yells, "I AM A BIG MAN. I AM MASSIVE. YOU CANNOT KNOCK ME O-" his monologue is abruptly cut off by a loud screech and a splash, and Wilbur turns back towards them. He sees Fundy laughing his head off while Tubbo wobbly stands on the board, grinning triumphantly at Tommy who is now in the water. Wilbur lets out a loud burst of laughter, cackling at the fate that has befallen the loud boy as said boy shoots a glare in Wilbur's direction. Wilbur's sure that Tommy couldn't hear him, but it surprises him anyway. 

After spending hours at the beach until the sunlight dwindles, they decide to stay the night at a nearby hotel. All of them help Wilbur pack up their things and carry them to the hotel. He books three rooms - one for Niki, another for him and Eret, and one more for Tommy, Tubbo, and Fundy. Once more, he is unsure about putting the three kids together without anyone responsible, but Fundy assures his father that they'll behave themselves. Wilbur smiles and ruffles his son's fiery orange hair, proud of his son's growth. Unknown to him, Tubbo and Tommy stifle a laugh, and Fundy signals a crossed finger to them behind their back. After getting the keys they all go to their own rooms to place their belongings before meeting again in Wilbur's room to play some games. They play several rounds of Among Us in which not once does Wilbur become an impostor before deciding to watch a movie. As a joke, they decide to watch the 2019 Cats despite the horrible reviews thinking,

_"How bad could it be?"_

  


The answer: very, very, _very_ bad. 

Niki is horrified at the CGI, while Wilbur is appalled at the terrible musical performances. The two of them end up having an in-depth conversation about how the actor's vocals don't complement one another's and how the magic of the music present in the original broadway was absent in the adaptation. 

Tommy and Fundy swear at every cat they see (which is a lot) while Eret just watches silently with a very distraught and horrified face. Tubbo on the other hand had lost interest 5 minutes into the movie and promptly decided to sleep lying down on his giant bee plush he brought along. 

Eventually, the mess of a movie comes to an end, and Wilbur tells the kids to get to bed. He gently wakes up Tubbo telling him that the movie is over, and Tubbo nods and blinks slowly, acknowledging Wilbur's words. He, Tommy, and Fundy are the first to leave, followed by Niki, and the room becomes much quieter without their presence. To fill in the sudden silence, Eret strikes up an idle conversation with Wilbur, and it goes on for some time before the two decide to turn off the lights. 

As Wilbur closes his eyes and is ready to sink into dreamland, he hears muffled - _no_ , loud - laughter coming from the room beside him followed by a "yEaHHH BITCHHH!" 

Wilbur groans. It is no doubt Tommy's voice, but he's too tired to storm in there to scold him for potentially bothering other occupants. _I'll tell him off tomorrow,_ Wilbur decides. 

He eventually drifts off to sleep after a tiring day, hoping to awaken tomorrow morning to the warm summer daylight sifting through the curtains.

  


\---

  


Wilbur awakens before dawn the next day. He yawns and rubs his eyes awake before shuffling towards the window. The view from his room is picturesque - the sky is a dark shade of violet and blue, with white specks scattered across it, while the dark waves overlap the white sandy shores. It isn't the golden sunrise he expected to wake up to, but he doesn't mind. In the other bed, Eret is sleeping peacefully, evident by the soft snores coming from him. Wilbur chuckles, envious of how the other is capable of having such a nice sleep. 

Minutes tick by, and Eret's snores eventually drown out, leaving Wilbur alone in the hollow silence. Alone in the darkness, Wilbur's memories of the ocean are brought back to life as the waves break against the shore outside. Flashes of orange hair, a long lost summer, and a little girl. Emotions run rampant within him -euphoria, desire, heartbreak, hopelessness, and shock. 

Overwhelmed by his suffocating thoughts, he quickly grabs his coat and decides to go out for a breath of fresh air. Throughout the entire trip, Wilbur was able to distract himself from the ghost of his memories by focusing on other things happening around him - his empty wallet, Niki’s beautiful photographs, Eret’s sandcastle, and the boys paddle boating. With no one around and nothing to distract him, his memories return to haunt him. He walks out the door and out of the hotel.

And he doesn't know why, but he heads for the ocean. 

The cold breeze sifting through his hair is reminiscent of that summer year, many years ago. Waves gently break against the empty beach, deep blue water against the ivory white sand. The sky is just a tinge of orange brighter than it was before, and Wilbur is reminded of the exact same day many years ago that changed his life. He remembers her sweet voice, her upbeat laughter, and her warm hand. 

  


Something he'll never see again. 

  


His eyes swell up, and he slowly begins to unravel. He hasn’t cried openly since - _since before Fundy was born?_

Wilbur doesn’t remember anymore. All he remembers is that after she left him alone with their child, he barely had any time to grieve over his lover as he had to take care of little Fundy and Tommy. He lets out a broken sob, letting loose of all emotion he couldn’t let out all those years ago. Stupid as it may seem, he didn’t want to cry again in front of Tommy ever since they lost their older brother and father. Back then Tommy didn’t understand what had happened to Techno, and it was only after Wilbur broke down crying while explaining did it dawn on little Tommy. Tommy wouldn’t stop crying. He wasn’t loud as well, which greatly worried Wilbur. As the only older figure left in Tommy’s family, he forced himself to get stronger and built up his walls so that Tommy didn’t have to feel so sad anymore. 

  


He wonders when those walls got so high.

  


~~_Maybe it’s because the people he’s loved so dearly slowly disappear._ ~~

  


As his soft sobs fill the air, he suddenly hears footsteps behind him, and he turns around. Through his blurry vision, basking in the early morning rays, he makes out a figure with bright, fiery, orange hair. 

The figure is moving, and it takes Wilbur a solid three seconds to realize that it's moving towards him. He knows it can't be her - after all he's been here thousands of times a long time ago, screaming, crying, and begging for her to come back. 

Regardless, he's still hopeful. Who knows that on a morning so similar to the day he lost her, she'll come back again. 

  


_"Sally?"_ he says, his voice barely a whisper. 

  


The figure stops in their steps. 

  


"Wilbur?" 

  


The voice calls out, worry lacing their voice. 

The blur recedes from his vision, and Wilbur finally sees the figure clearly. Several meters away is Fundy, looking concerned for his father. Apparently, Wilbur has been standing knee-deep in the water, unmoving as the waves soak his boots and dampen the edges of his coat. Wilbur snaps out of his haze and is surprised to find himself soaked, and he walks towards his son. 

"Hey Fundy, " Wilbur says, his voice soft and quiet as he tries to avoid sounding as if he's just cried. “What’re you doing up so early in the morning?”

Fundy is silent for a few seconds as he analyzes his father's state. He notices the slightly red eyes, puffy cheeks, and disoriented look in his father's eyes - and he is also sure to notice the quietness of his father's voice. 

_He knows._ Despite Wilbur’s best efforts to hide his feelings, Fundy often sees the sadness in his eyes and the way he avoids the conversation whenever he asked about his mother. As he grew older, he learned to avoid that topic, and never really asked about his mother again.

What he _didn’t_ know was that bringing his father to the beach would make him relive the ghosts of his pasts.

Unsure of what to do, he slowly approaches his father and grabs hold of the edges of Wilbur’s coat. Wilbur is surprised, but he brushes through his son’s hair to avoid making eye contact with his son.

“Were you thinking about mum?” Fundy asks, his voice filling Wilbur’s ears as the sound of the waves faded into the background. 

“Mhmm.” Wilbur mumbles softly.

Wilbur doesn’t continue, and it leaves a rather awkward silence between them. Eventually, Wilbur walks away from the shoreline and sits down on a drier spot, where he pats the empty space beside him and silently invites Fundy to sit beside him. 

They sit there in silence for a while, the only interruptions coming from the gawking seagulls flying high above their heads. Eventually, Wilbur speaks up.

“Y’know, when you guys begged me to go to the beach, I thought I was ready to let go of my old memories,” he starts to fiddle with his fingers and averts his gaze from Fundy.

“But it turns out I’m not ready for it yet. Every time I see the ocean, I remember the first time I met her. I remember all the days many years ago we spent on the beach talking and laughing away. I remember my first kiss. My first love,” he pauses, “and then all of a sudden she’s gone, just as like the beach during a high tide. Without a goodbye or anything.”

Wilbur swears. 

“She just disappeared with a _fucking_ poof - leaving you behind on a beach. It lead to so many questions. Why did she leave me? Was I just someone she wanted to play with? Did- 

  


_Did she even love me?”_

  


And with the last sentence, Wilbur’s voice breaks. He hugs his knees and buries his face in them, seemingly attempting to hide from Fundy.

 _Oh shit._ Fundy panics. He wasn’t the best with words when his dad had a breakdown - most of the time he and the others would rely on Niki to speak. Or Tommy’s loudness to distract him from other emotions. But this time he was on his own.

“I’m sure mum loved you a lot dad.” Fundy says.

Fundy thinks quickly.

“After all she did leave you a letter saying that I was yours. If she didn’t love me well, she could’ve just yeeted me into the ocean and never tell you.”

Hearing Fundy talk about yeeting his younger self into the ocean stopped Wilbur’s breakdown. That was definitely _not_ a sentence he was expecting to hear.

“Also dad, she could’ve had other reasons for leaving you, and they didn’t necessarily mean she didn’t love you,” Fundy rambles on. “Who knows she was like the little mermaid or something, and she had to leave to protect you.” It was only after saying that sentence did Fundy realize how stupid he sounds. He really wishes Niki was here to save his stupid ass. 

Wilbur and Fundy make eye contact, and within Wilbur’s warm brown eyes, Fundy sees a childlike wonder in them. Wilbur sniffles and rubs away some tears from his eyes before saying, “You do realize how unlikely that is though, right?” 

Fundy is surprised that his father doesn’t directly refute his statement, so he goes along with it. “I mean,” he gestures towards himself and shows off his fox ears and fluffy tail, “none of you were foxes yet I have these very obvious fox features. Magic is all around us in the Dream SMP. Who’s to say that mum wasn’t magical as well?” 

Wilbur thinks for a while. Whenever she was with Sally, he did always feel that she had an ethereal vibe, and always spoke like she was from a faraway land. So maybe Fundy wasn’t so off the mark after all. 

“I guess.” Wilbur mumbles. He stays quiet for a while.

Fundy shifts closer to his father and gives him a hug. “Besides that, we aren’t alone anymore! Sure mum may not be here, but we have everyone else. We have Tommy, Tubbo, Eret, and Niki! We’ve come so far together! You even built L’manburg!!” Fundy exclaims, reminding Wilbur that maybe he isn’t as alone as he thought he was. 

Wilbur lets Fundy’s words sink in. Too preoccupied with the beach and the memories attached to it, Wilbur doesn’t realize how much it’s meddled with his thoughts. He really isn’t alone anymore. Sure he’s lost a lot of people in his life - but he’s also met a lot of people too. Wilbur lets loose a small smile, remembering all the fond memories he’s made with his new family.

And Fundy notices it. Of course he’d notice his father’s soft smiles. He makes eye contact with Wilbur, before flashing a wide grin. His ears pipe up in delight, and his tail sways. He gets to his feet and brushes off the sand from his leggings, before helping Wil up to his feet. Without any indication of doing so, he runs towards the water only turning back once to beckon his father to join him before splashing into the water. He grins back at Wilbur, beaming, as Wilbur stands in the sand, unmoving for some time. 

“C’mon dad, what are you waiting for? You’ve missed a whole day yesterday of playing in the water - so why not make new memories today?” Fundy yells from the water.

Before Wilbur realizes, the sky is no longer the shade of blue and indigo it was when he first arrived but is now a brilliant shade of orange and vermillion. In the shallow ocean waves, he sees his son, splashing around as the warm orange rays of sunlight bask him in ethereal light, overwriting a distant memory of someone so similar, a memory that he should've learned to let go years ago.

He walks towards his son, and in the early light of day begins to playfully splash water at each other. 

  


_“Why not make new memories today?” echoes in his head._

And maybe,

  


_just maybe,_

Wilbur doesn't hate the ocean so much anymore.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :")) Once more thank you for reading!


	3. salt water (visual)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a little visual for the previous chapter ~

[(If the image isn't showing, please click here!)](https://angelicyuuchan.tumblr.com/post/639494641449828352/a-little-something-i-drew-for-my-fic-3)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once more, I'm still new to AO3, so if anyone can drop some tips on how to make the image pop up, please do share!


End file.
